May 28, 2021                                             

 UPDATED 12:50 p.m.

Dear Valued Tourism Partners,

I hope all of you are as excited as we are to finally be at Memorial Day Weekend. Our positive media visibility this week has been an incredible boost at the perfect time! Today, Virginia Beach is one of two beach destinations featured "above the fold" in a cover story titled, "Let's Hit the Beach." It is great to see the word about our new entertainment programs is getting out

We also were covered today in another article titled, "AAA: State could see a 61% increase in travel over memorial weekend." Click here to read both articles.

Earlier this week, Virginia Beach was featured in several WAVY TV-10 broadcast segments. Huge thanks are due to Interim Resort Manager Brian Solis who worked with the WAVY team on a three-part news series titled, “Operation Oceanfront.” Brian hit it out of the park with reporter Andy Fox during a guided tour of the Oceanfront. Brian covered everything from new safety initiatives and our recently established Resort Management Office to our new Beach Ambassador program and the daily entertainment at our Oceanfront parks. His message was clear: we have and will continue, to do the work to improve the Virginia Beach experience for both visitors and residents. He did an outstanding job for the local tourism industry and we’re grateful for this amazing coverage at the start of our peak season. If you didn’t catch the “Operation Oceanfront” series, you can access all three segments of the series if you click below……

Part I How Virginia Beach is working to reduce crime and rebuild for a successful summer season

Part II The bottom line is, economic recovery is here but the workers are not

Part III Why should visitors come to Virginia Beach? City pumps $1M into Atlantic Avenue improvements

More good news: The Sports Center will be rocking and rolling through Monday as the 22nd Annual National High School Coaches Association National Duals competition draws an expected 5,000 wrestlers to our destination once again. This event is the largest and most competitive duals in the country. Day 1 and Day 2 spectator tickets can be purchased here. Tickets for Day 3 will go on sale Sunday, May 30.

Also, the 2021 Ralph Downey Memorial Soccer Tournament brings another 3,100 athletes to the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex on Saturday and Sunday.

The Memorial Day Salute to Summer at 17th and 24th Street parks will offer live music all weekend. Live! On Atlantic street performances at 19th and 23rd Streets will run from 7 – 11:00 p.m. as well.

Between boutiques and diverse cuisine at Town Center to the restaurants, shops, and more at the Oceanfront, lifetime memories are made in Virginia Beach. Together, we are moving the needle in a positive direction and I am very encouraged for our industry.

Please let me know how my team and I can assist you.

Have a great holiday weekend. 

Sincerely,

Quick Glance at Virginia Beach's Performance

Virginia Beach YoY Hotel Occupancy

*The next several weeks of our YoY data will be considerably different; this time last year the government instituted COVID-19 restriction policies (March 16, 2020).

Source: Smith Travel Research Inc. (STR) - Republication or other use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

Virginia Beach Weekly Occupancy Competition Set Comparison

Source: Smith Travel Research Inc. (STR) - Republication or other use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

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